Quinn said in a Friday news release that the clemency petitions are part of dockets that date back to 2007. His office says those who were granted clemency have recently undergone criminal background checks. Clemencies that the governor granted were for crimes such as theft, drug convictions, burglary and robbery.

The governor's office says he has granted more than 1,000 clemency requests since he took office and denied about 1,850 requests.

Quinn's office said in the release that the governor was making progress on clemency decisions aimed at clearing a backlog of more than 2,500 cases that built up under his predecessor.